George Seferis – Collected Poems

MYTHISTOREMA

I

The angel,

we had waited for him for three years, concentrated

closely examining

the pines, the seashore, the stars.

Joining the blade of the plough or the ship’s keel

once again we searched to discover the first sperm

so that the ancient drama might recommence.

We went back to our homes broken hearted

with incapable limbs, with mouths ravaged

by the taste of rust and salinity.

When we woke, we traveled to the north, strangers

driven into the mist by the perfect wings

of swans that wounded us.

During winter nights the strong eastern wind

maddened us

in the summers we got lost in the agony of day

that couldn’t die.

We brought back

these petroglyphs of a humble art.

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